Liquidity in Financial Markets

"Liquidity in Financial Markets: Theory and applications in the Swiss securities market structure" is an in-depth analysis of liquidity and its role in financial markets. In financial theory, liquidity is not clearly defined but genuinely assumed in standard models. This study therefore sets out to establish a practically applicable liquidity model. In a first step, it defines financial market liquidity and discusses its economic implications in normal and tense market conditions. The resulting analytical framework is then refined through the incorporation of liquidity phenomena in the Swiss financial market structure. The study thereby assumes that a liquidity phenomenon results in a liquidity premium - a premium affected by the market microstructure, the investors' behaviour and the product designs of financial instruments. The research focus remains exclusively on the Swiss securities market structure. An empirical assessment of historical liquidity premiums in Switzerland rounds off this second step concerned with the theoretical implications of the liquidity model. In a third and final step, the study discusses the implications of limited liquidity for financial valuation and decision making. Key attention is paid to enterprise valuation and to the traded financial securities of a listed company. Here, the liquidity model enables the establishment of an application matrix for limited liquidity in securities valuation. In a conclusive demonstration of the model's practical validity, the study presents three liquidity-enhancing strategies that minimise a company's cost of capital.